The Invitation
by zuuzuu
Summary: A one shot of the friendship between Claire and the Harvest Sprites. Based on the Tea Party.


**Harvest Moon does not belong to me. Please enjoy the read.**

**The relationship between Claire and the Harvest Sprites was always one of my favorites.**

Claire had come back from a night down at the mines when she saw Hoggy walking out of her farm. "Hoggy!" she called out. The little Harvest Sprite turned to her and smiled happily. "Oh hello Claire! Did you bring me something good to eat?" He bounded towards her.

The farmer laughed lovingly and took some honey out of her rucksack. "Always do!" She bent down and gave it to him. "Thanks for all your hard work today!"

Hoggy beamed and then waved goodbye to her. "I'll see you tomorrow!" he shouted. The girl looked puzzled, "But I don't have you scheduled for tomorrow, Hoggy. I planned on giving you and your brothers a break for once." She rubbed her neck, and confessed embarrassingly, "I'm afraid I might be a slave driver."

The little Harvest Sprite looked up at her, confused as well. Then he laughed nervously as he realized something, "Oh! Of course you're not. I guess I'll see you later then!" He then dashed out of her farm all the way to his home with the honey wrapped greedily in his hands.

"Brothers!" yelled the little yellow Harvest Sprite. "Brothers!"

The door to the Sprite Hut flew open as he burst through panting heavily. "Claire might suspect!" Hoggy clumsily threw the honey onto the table where Staid and Aqua were both hovering over a piece of parchment paper and a feather with it's tip dipped in black ink. "Hey! Watch it!" they both barked.

"Well, that's just silly Hoggy," said Chef. He carefully took the honey from the table and put a bit of it onto their dinners. "She doesn't seem to check the weather channel very often anyway." The red-clad Sprite licked his finger and squealed softly. "Claire really does give us the best honey!" He took the plates to each of his brothers.

Staid was writing carefully onto the parchment. "We have to do this perfectly," he scolded. "This is the first Tea Party we've ever invited her to and it has to be perfect." Aqua was reciting the letter quietly over and over again to himself.

Bold was sprawled out on his bed with his hands behind his head. "It's going to be raining tonight. I'll have to get over there as fast I can so it won't get wet!" Nappy, who was also on a bed, looked sleepily at his purple-clothed brother. "Only you? I want to come too!" he whined. He started to wriggle on his bed to show his desperation.

"It's dangerous if only one of us goes," said Timid. His voice was quivering a little.

Staid looked up from his writing. "Timid's right, Bold." He resumed quickly to finish off the letter. "It'll be so exciting to have a human at our Party!" exclaimed Aqua, getting up quickly. The blue Sprite shot an angry glare at him when he shook the table. "I don't think we've ever invited one before!"

Chef was already finishing his plate. "I remember when Claire was new here," he reminisced. "She always gave us gifts didn't she?" He laughed as Hoggy nodded vigorously. "Delicious gifts!" he chirped.

"And she always played with us too!" said Nappy. "I'm never bored when she's around." Aqua agreed with his little brother, "Claire really knows us, as well. She understands me completely!" The light blue sprite was always hard to fathom, even to his brothers.

"I'm impressed by her hard work. She's so organized!" Staid stated proudly. Bold was proud of the farmer as well, "Claire's brave too!" Timid shyly spoke, "And she'll never leave us either. She's our friend!"

All of the sprites nodded. "Claire is such a good human," Nappy repeated. Staid suddenly stood up and put the feather into the ink. "Finished!" he said with a sigh. The invitation was stated beautifully. The others immediately gathered around him. "Wooooooooow!" The Sprites started to murmur with each other. Staid lifted his chin slightly as the others regarded his letter.

Bold scooped up the letter and folded it gently. "I'll get this to her," he said happily. Hoggy put it into the envelope, Chef wrapped a ribbon around it, and Nappy sealed it with a stamp. Staid gathered their large leaves with curved stems; it would keep them dry from the rain. And the seven set out into the wet night.

They marched in a line: Bold in front charging forward and carrying the letter, Aqua second humming a tune, Hoggy third still licking his lips from dinner, Timid fourth feeling safest in the middle, Chef fifth wondering if they should have brought a gift along with the invitation, Nappy sixth dragging his feet from sleepiness, and Staid seventh making sure none of his brothers were left behind.

The rain fell on them and soon they began to feel their spirits rising higher and higher. They were happiest in the rain. Aqua's song was contagious and they all danced and sang in the streets, splashing and kicking the water in the puddles. Their little feet beat to the rhythm all the way to the farmer's house.

The seven Harvest Sprites looked up at the tall mailbox. Bold began to jump but of course he couldn't make it. "It's too high," Aqua said, stating the obvious. Then, the purple clad Sprite raced toward the mailbox's stand and clutched at its nicks to hold himself. The others started to cheer loudly.

"Shh!" Staid sliced his hand through the night air and all of them shushed. Even Bold stopped. "Don't wake her. This is a surprise." His voice was low. The others nodded while Bold continued up, now holding the note in his teeth. Timid's chattering teeth was the only thing that could be heard.

With a quick movement, Bold pried the mailbox open and he slipped the letter in without skipping a beat. It was a little harder to close, but he pushed the lid with his feet and made a graceful fall to the ground. He put his hands on his hips and looked at his brothers who were in awe, "I told you I could do it by myself." He grinned so all his teeth showed.

The brothers jumped and laughed together on their way home. Tomorrow, they'd all be laughing together with Claire too. She would come, opening the door of their Hut slowly, with her letter in her hand and goodies spilling out of her rucksack and basket. She would present their now wet invitation with her most brilliant smile as she realizes how much a friend she is to them and they to her. And the Harvest Sprites would give her a most wonderful party.

**Thank you for reading!**


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